Augusta National is now in the rear-view mirror but the golf season is just getting going. And season golf bettors know that the money you win on the RBC Heritage is just as green as the money you win on the Masters.
Usually the tournament directly after a major features a softer field, but there are plenty of big names heading to Harbour Town this weekend including Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Cam Smith and Patrick Cantlay.
While it will take a pretty special effort to beat this field across four rounds, every player heading to Harbour Town has the capability to set the pace on Thursday.
Here are five sleepers who are worth a bet to be the first-round leader:
Matt Kuchar (+6500): Kuchar didn’t play at the Masters, so he should be ready to go from the outset at Harbour Town, a place where he’s had plenty of success with a win and 10 top-25 finishes. The past 18 months haven’t exactly gone to plan for the Georgia Tech alum, but he’s coming off a T2 finish at the Valero Texas Open. Kuchar, who ranks fifth in Round 1 scoring average this season, is an interesting longshot in the outright market, but I like his chances to provide value while the top guys in this field are getting themselves right after Augusta.
Harold Varner III (+6500): With the ability to get white hot out of nowhere, Harold Varner III is always worth consideration in the FRL market. Varner showed his ability to string together birdies during Round 1 at the Masters, where he went from 3-over par on the 12th hole to 1-under par by the time he finished his round. Varner’s scoring touch always makes him live at these kind of prices.
Mito Pereira (+7500): A favorite among golf-betting circles of late, Mito Pereira comes to Harbour Town in strong form. Pereira has finished inside the top-15 in two of his last five starts and inside the top-30 four times in that span. The Chilean is coming off a T13 finish at the Valero Texas Open.
Brian Harman (+7500): A missed cut at the Masters is probably providing value on Harman this week. Despite his struggles at Augusta, this has been another decent season for the Savannah, Ga., native. Harman finished T5 at the Valero Texas Open two weeks ago and has three top-15 finishes in his last eight starts. Harman is 15th on Tour in Round 1 scoring average and has good history at Harbour Town with two top-10 finishes and 13th-place result in 2021.
Takumi Kanaya (+14000): Harbour Town is a course that puts more emphasis on accuracy off the tee rather than distance and that makes the 23-year-old Kanaya an interesting bet at long odds. Kanaya’s driver was fine at Augusta, as he hit 13 of 14 fairways before missing the cut.
Kanaya is a relative unknown in this part of the world, but he did have a good showing at the WGC Match Play — a course that should play similarly to Harbour Town — and has the game to go low at big odds.